Visiting Boston Guide (Summer '14 Edition)

Only update I can think of is to delete Idle Hands, or move them to Night Shift for the time being until they land their own spot.

One more: CBC Newton is now at 14 Austin St in Newtonville right near the Mass Pike

 

Another update would be to add the Lord Hobo Brewing taproom in Woburn to the list of drivable breweries.

 

Has anyone been to The Merchant lately? The only reviews I can find on here are from last year from a little bit after the opened from the looks of it. I was planning on checking it out tonight (in Boston for work and it's close-by). I'll be solo so I'd need a spot at the bar. I read it can get very crowded with the post-work crowd. If that's the case, when is a safe time to go?

 

I haven't been in a little while, but don't think it will be too crowded on a Wednesday night. That said, if you aren't going to meet other people, you might as well go two or three blocks further to Stoddards or Kinsale for better beer and food. Tip Tap Room also isn't too far, and jm Curley probably has the best food of all (great burger) along with good beers, albeit only 5-6 taps. The Merchant is a nice enough looking place and you will certainly find something good to drink, but the food has been unimpressive and the draft list hasn't had anything great since the first few weeks when they sometimes had Trillium.

 

I visited Kinsale the other night; it was nice. Beer list was decent (I just missed them kicking Lunch which was replaced with Fresh Slice, womp womp). I was considering Stoddards or Tip Tap Room, but neither really had no drafts on I wanted. Part of the reason I was intrigued by Merchant is because I heard they had Trillium on-tap, but it sounds like that hasn't been the case for quite some time... Bummer. I also see they have $1 oysters today, so hell, I might go there anyway!

Also, Saus was a pretty cool place albeit small and hot.

 

Yeah, sorry to say Trillium on draught is extremely rare these days, and Merchant doesn't ever get any. I assume you are already aware of Row 34, since you seem to have done your research, but that would be my other rec. You probably won't find Trillium on draught there, either, and the oysters won't be as cheap, but everything else about that place is worth the trip.

 

Yeah, Row 34 rocks and I see they have Mastermind on tap. That's an easy decision now.

 

Any new update or changes? BTW, great thread!!

 

Changes since last summer?
Trillium expanded and is bottling a ton of stuff now. Night Shift is canning a lot of different beers now. Mystic has upped their game and Cambridge Brewing is bottling some interesting stuff out of Mystic's brewery. Winter Hill Brewing just opened. Gingerman opened last month and is easily one of the best beer bars in Boston.

 

Castle Island brewery opened near Trillium's Canton location. It seems pretty easy to track down their cans in stores around Boston too.

Lamplighter is expected to open in Cambridge sometime this spring/summer (hopefully)

For transportation: late night train service has ended

Not sure if it will come back; there is some controversy over it.

 

Looking at the original bar list, jm Curley is currently closed due to water damage, hopefully that gets remedied soon. The Centre Street Sanctuary is also closed. I have some opinions on the inclusion of a few bars on this list (Asgard, Cornwalls) and the exclusion of Somerville spots (the Independent and Five Horses) but perhaps this isn't the place for that discussion.

Definitely need to update the brewery list as well. Perhaps we should do some drafting here and then start a Summer '16 thread?

 

Thanks for the heads up. I am making my yearly work treks up soon (two visits this summer actually). Gingerman looks like an easy 7 minute walk from where I stay. I'll definitely be checking that out. Thanks!

Any idea when the last T rails run?

 

Times for first and last trains, and headways: http://www.mbta.com/uploadedFiles/Documents/Schedules_and_Maps/Subway/frequency-schedule.pdf

 

The Ginger Man is a really nice place. Here now. I like the vibe and the bartender is very knowledgable and nice. I sort of wish they had more locals on tap from their expansive list, but that is coming from a Philly guy. I'm sure the locals appreciate the out of town stuff, but I think a 'few' more locals wouldn't hurt.

 

Yeah but telling that to a Philly guy is preaching to the choir, probably the best distribution in the country.

I'm not sure what best local tap list is @ShanePB, but if you have another night, Five Horses in South End has Trillium / Night Shift / Jack's Abby (the three you IMO need to even qualify for the discussion) on tap among other Northeast beers.

 

Perfect. I'm here every summer, and luckily twice this summer. I leave Friday but will be back the end of July into August for 9 days. Five Horses will definitely be on my list. Thank you!

 

Five Horses, hands down, had the best tap list I've seen in Boston (for wanting local/NE stuff, which is what I want). Cannot wait to get back up there in a few weeks. This might be my new nightly spot. Thanks @BucketsB!